Korean Air and Asiana clear board, shareholder votes for merger

Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have obtained formal board and shareholder approvals needed to advance their planned merger into a single carrier. According to the companies, Korean Air's board ratified the merger agreement in mid-August 2026 under provisions of South Korea's Commercial Act governing small-scale mergers, while Asiana's shareholders approved the deal at an extraordinary general meeting the same day, with more than four-fifths of shareholders attending and the vast majority of shares cast in favor.

The approvals formalize a merger agreement that had already been signed by both airlines' boards in May 2026. With shareholder and board sign-off complete, the two carriers are now expected to proceed through creditor protection procedures and other administrative steps before the merger registration is finalized. The companies said the corporate merger is scheduled to be registered and the combined airline is expected to begin operating in mid-December 2026.

The deal has already cleared several regulatory milestones in South Korea. Korean Air received conditional approval for the merger from the country's transport ministry in mid-2026, and its merger registration statement was later cleared by regulators. Both carriers are now working on obtaining amendments to their air operator certificates and international operating permits as part of the process of integrating the two airlines.

According to Korean Air, work is also underway on merging operational systems, aligning training programs, and coordinating staff across both carriers ahead of the planned launch of the combined airline as a single operating entity.